by Shane Conto, Staff Writer
Did you realize that we were getting Expend4bles, another film in this old school action franchise? It has been nine years since The Expendables 3 fell at the box office and disappointed fans of the franchise — you wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Lionsgate and the crew decided to let it go away. But… now we have a fourth entry with a fresh feel. This was promised to be a passing of the torch from Sylvester Stallone to Jason Statham, as Sly would take a backseat in this latest edition. That is an interesting prospect, and the rest of the cast felt a little different than the previous entries as well. But you know there was one question: Would it work?
First off, did director Scott Waugh make a splash with his first Expendables effort? Unfortunately, his film does not deliver much on its main promise of exciting action. The editing is all over the place and so choppy that it is hard to feel the impact of much of the action, and the CGI is downright atrocious. They certainly did not use the $100 million budget on any of the effects, which are so bad that it is hard to concentrate on the action most of the time. There are only a few highlights, including a strong fight between Lee Christmas (Statham) and the villainous Rahmat (Iko Uwais of The Raid fame). Additionally, there is a solid highlight featuring Ong Bak star, Tony Jaa, as Decha, alongside Lash (Levy Tran, who is a fun addition to the film). Overall, Expend4bles is an ugly film to look at, and there are horrible pacing issues at times.
But does this team of six (!) writers give audiences something to be excited about? Not really. Let’s get some things out of the way. Expend4bles lacks the feel of an Expendables film. There is little Barney Ross (Stallone, of course). What they do with his character is at times bold, but at other times, it feels incredibly cheap. The splintering of the team (the biggest issue with The Expendables 3) is doubled down on here, and it works so poorly. This is a team film. Sure, there have always been stars, but this time it feels unsatisfying. If it wasn’t for the cast, the humor would have a success rate of zero. The dialogue is incredibly stupid — the jokes feel either tired, outdated, or downright gross. There are even some “twists” that barely qualify for that term because they are so obvious. The writing has never been the strongest part of these films, but this one is downright bad. Its opening act is chopped up into nonlinear pieces that make zero logical sense, and the second act is SO long and drawn out. Only the third act delivers, despite it still feeling dumb in a bad way, when it is supposed to be campy and violent fun.
Can this cast at least salvage anything? When Stallone and Statham are together, they spark. Their chemistry has been the key to the whole franchise. With Stallone gone for most of the film, though, the void is felt strongly. Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture are the two holdovers from the rest of the franchise. The way they are used feels off, as Lundgren’s Gunner has a half-hearted angle and Couture’s Toll Road must talk too much (which is not his strength). Megan Fox feels out of place, and the male gaze is strong in this one. Her introduction feels off putting and disrespectful to her as well. 50 Cent adds nothing. Seriously. Nothing. Andy Garcia is charming enough in his role as an authority figure in the story. Poor Jacob Scipio portrays the son of Antonio Banderas’ character, but one, he suffers from not being Banderas, and two, his dialogue is downright disgusting, annoying, and off-putting. Tran was a solid addition, and Jaa is the one big addition on the good guy side. Uwais stands out enough from his physicality, despite being saddled with a bland villainous character.
So… should this film have been made? This is a serious question to ask after nine years. It just does not feel like The Expendables. While the second outing broke the code and delivered the campy and crazy romp that this franchise should strive to be, this one misses out on all of that, and feels like a bland new vehicle for Statham, with some big names thrown in as support. There are only fleeting moments that make it really feel like Expend4bles. Let this one lie, Lionsgate.
Score: Didn’t Like It
Expend4bles is currently playing in theaters
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